app for tracking weight lifting calories

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ugasouthernpride
ugasouthernpride Posts: 2 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I love the myfitnesspal app. I am trying to find one that will keep track of calories burnt when i go to the gym. Does anyone know if there is an app that will estimate the calories burnt when im lifting weights and add it to the MFP app?

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  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    Yep, My Fitness Pal will - just look for strength or weight training under Cardio.
    -
  • ugasouthernpride
    ugasouthernpride Posts: 2 Member
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    when i input an exercise under strength it does not offer a calorie amount. it just acts like a records of sorts.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    There are reasons for that.

    https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/11170-why-don-t-you-calculate-calories-burned-for-strength-training-
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
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    You have to look it up under cardio.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    ugasouthernpride wrote: »
    when i input an exercise under strength it does not offer a calorie amount. it just acts like a records of sorts.

    Because you're not looking it up under the Cardio section. Its in there and will give you a calorie burn estimate if you log it that way.

    And also this:
    There are reasons for that.

    https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/11170-why-don-t-you-calculate-calories-burned-for-strength-training-

    :smile:
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
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    They say a picture is worth a thousand words...
    hqj4isu5fg65.jpg
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    Weight lifting is not a cardio event ... the number generated when logging it as such is inherently inaccurate.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Time your workout and add it as strength training in the cardio section. You could also use the Endomondo app, but I think they both over-estimate the calories burnt.
  • Sutnak
    Sutnak Posts: 227 Member
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    brianpperkins wrote: »
    Weight lifting is not a cardio event ... the number generated when logging it as such is inherently inaccurate.

    Some apps, like Jefit, will actually calculate the time spent liftin vs resting vs wasting time.

    I found that in a 60 minute workout, I was actually lifting weights for about 18 minutes of that time. (powerlifting program, circuit training will have more time, less rest.)

    Now that can't burn very many calories at all. Even counting EPOC.

  • jakrantz
    jakrantz Posts: 2 Member
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    I lift weights for 2+ hrs at the gym on Mondays...that has to burn some serious calories. The whole point of this for me is to be accurate so you're telling me MFP does not have any options to log exercise for lifting? I'm out then. Pointless/.
  • Grumpyhaus
    Grumpyhaus Posts: 2 Member
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    As others have stated in previous threads, the majority of your calories burned from lifting weights is going to be post workout during recovery. There really is no accurate way to track that.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
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    jakrantz wrote: »
    I lift weights for 2+ hrs at the gym on Mondays...that has to burn some serious calories. The whole point of this for me is to be accurate so you're telling me MFP does not have any options to log exercise for lifting? I'm out then. Pointless/.

    No. You can log exercise calories by putting 2 hours of strength training under the cardio section. It just won't be accurate, because it doesn't know the intensity of your worout, or how long you rest between sets. You can also attach a heart rate monitor to your chest, but that won't be accurate, either.

    If you want accurate, experiment with your TDEE for a few weeks to find out your maintenance calories that include your weight lifting sessions and adjust your calories accordingly.
  • BlondieCakes81
    BlondieCakes81 Posts: 6 Member
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    dave4d wrote: »
    You can also attach a heart rate monitor to your chest, but that won't be accurate, either.

    If you want accurate, experiment with your TDEE for a few weeks to find out your maintenance calories that include your weight lifting sessions and adjust your calories accordingly.

    Why wouldn't a heart rate monitor be accurate? I'm kind of struggling with this same problem. I want to figure out how many calories I burn lifting and was thinking a heart rate monitor was really the best way.
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
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    I've found that they tend to over-estimate. I believe that they are intended for steady state cardio. Due to the time it takes your heart rate to drop, they will estimate you to be burning calories during your periods of rest.

    I've worn my heart rate monitor during lifting sessions before, and it will tell me I've burned over twice the calories that I would have got if I would have had MFP do the estimate for me.

    I tend to believe the lower number from MFP is more accurate to my actual burn.

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